Safety retaining means for earrings



Sept. 20, 1955 L. D. RICHARDS 2,718,123

SAFETY RETAINING MEANS FOR EARRINGS Filed Sept. 23, 1952 LUCY D.RICHARDS INVENTOR United States Patent Ofi ice 2,718,128 Patented Sept.20, 1955 SAFETY RETAINING MEANS FOR EARRINGS Lucy D. Richards, Seattle,Wash.

Application September 23, 1952, Serial No. 310,958

1 Claim. (Cl. 63-44) This present device consists of a resilient wirewhich is conformed to fit the contour of the flesh which joins the outerear to the scalp. The same is corrugated in part in order to insure thedefinite positioning of the wire hook member. Connected to the lower endof the resilient wire arrangement is a tension member, normally jewelrytype chain, which terminates in a resilient hook which is adapted toengage a portion of the earring when the same is in place on the lobe ofthe ear.

Earrings as an article of jewelry are probably subject to greater lossthan other jewelry items. This is due to the fact that the averageearring is clamped to the lobe of the ear, either by a screw or byspring tensioning means. Both of these arrangements place considerablepressure on the ear which is objectionable and the wearer normallyendeavors to have that pressure reduced to the minimum that will givesecurity against loss but too often in the endeavor to gain some relieffrom the pressure the adjustment is made too close to the margin and oneof the earrings is lost. To a lesser degree the earrings of the typewhere the ear is pierced are quite often lost due to the fact that inorder to keep the earring as light as possible so as not to stretch theopening in the ear lobe the parts are made very light, and being light,cannot be depended upon to always give a secure fastening. The presentdevice is intended to provide means which is independently hooked on tothe ear between the outer ear and the scalp and to be connected to theearring by a flexible tension member. It is recognized that manyattempts have been made to provide a device of this order and they maybe generally classified as in two categories: one, in which a U-shapedwire is draped over the ear somewhat after the order of the temple pieceof a spectacle and then connection is made by a flexible member to theearring. Too often however, due to the fact that there is no tension onthe device to hold the same in place, the U-shaped member slides out ofposition and thereby fails in its primary object. Other attempts havebeen made to provide a device of this order in which spring tensioningmeans are provided between the earring and the hook-on member. Suchdevices as observed however are open to the objection that the ear ismoved by the average person a good deal. The three main auricularmuscles do move the ear of the person unconsciously as they endeavor tolisten intently. It therefore develops that any means tying the hooksupport to the earring under tension is objectionable to most people.

In this present invention an endeavor has been made to avoid theannoyances and lack of security caused by presently known devices and toprovide a safety retaining means or guard in which the hook memberitself is provided with special means to insure that it will be retainedin its desired position and that a looped flexible means will connectthis definitely-positioned hook member with the earring in such a mannerthat the normal movement of the ear is not at all interfered with eventhough the fullest security is provided.

The principal object of this present invention therefore is to providemeans which is inconspicuous in use, which does not have any tendency toannoy the wearer, and which will provide a definite security means toprevent loss of the earring.

A further object of this invention is to provide means whereby the guardmember may be quickly and easily attached or detached from the earringso that the same may be conveniently put in place or removed.

A further object of this invention is to provide an earring securingmeans which is simply made and which because if its small size can beeasily hidden from normal view.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from thedescription and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended orare inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an earring retaining means madeafter the teachings of this invention. In this view a screw clamp typeof earring is indicated in dashed lines;

lines;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the hooked member forming part of thisinvention with the tissue connecting the outer ear and the scalp beingindicated in dotted Figure 3 is 'a fragmentary top plan view of theupper hooked portion of theguard device;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the safety retaining means inplace on a wearers ear.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, thenumeral 10 indicates the ear-engaging member which is normally formed ofa wire which is tarnishproof and most usually is gold filled or platedso that it will match the metal of the earring with which it is used.The ear-engaging member consists of a hooked-shaped portion 12 whichhooks over that portion of the car which joins the outer ear proper tothe scalp. The actual weight of the device is normally placed on theauricular muscles, which muscles are anchored both to the outer ear andto the scalp and provide the means for moving the outer ear. Thesemuscles however are best adapted to accept any long-continued weightapplication. They are the muscles that normally accept the weight of thetemple pieces of ordinary spectacles. The extreme end of hook member 12is preferably provided with a ball 14 which is usually secured to thesame as by soldering or the like. The downwardly extending branch of thehook member as 16 has considerably less curvature than the upper portionso as to enable it to fit the ordinary form of human ear. This portion,however, terminates at 18 as the mastoid portion 20 begins at that pointand extends downwardly to about the lower portion of the ear attachmentto the scalp. The form of this portion is probably best illustrated inFigure 2. It is to be noted that a definite indentation is provided at18 and then a rather pronounced curve which then is flattened out intothe portion 20 as it extends downwardly. This particular form is bestadapted to the snug fitting of the average human ear and slightvariations required to fit the mastoid process can be hand-molded intothe same by bending the wire forming the attaching means. It is believedthat Figure 4 shows the manner in which this device fits between theouter ear and the scalp.

Secured to preferably a bent-up loop 22 formed in the end of thesecuring means is a tension member. This may be cord, plastic filament,or the like, but normally jewelry chain as indicated at 24 is the mostdesirable. A chain of this order is light and blends well with thejewelry characteristics of the earring and is very flexible. Secured tothe extreme lower end of chain 24 is a resilient hooking member 26. Thismember is provided with an eye to engage chain 24 and then is bentaround U-shaped and closed on itself, The wire-forming hook is then bentoutwardly at 28 so that the hook can be easily engaged around some smallportion of the earring, preferably this is the retaining screw as 30 ofthe earring.

In order that this device may be worn for long periods with the maximumcomfort and security, it has been found desirable to corrugate the hookportion, as will probably be best noted in Figures 1 and 3, Thecorrugations should be made normal to the plane of the hook-like member.This will cause the plane of the corrugation to lie flat against theflesh so there will be no fine line of pressure, but rather the pressurewill be distributed over a relatively wide path. This adds greatly tothe comfort of the wearer of the device and also prevents the hookedmember from slipping out of place. It is to be understood, it isbelieved, that any tendency for the corrugated portion to move on theskin will mean that in each of the corrugations there will be a tendencyto make a small roll of the skin and this has been found to quitesecurely position the device and prevent its slipping out of itsintended position. It will be apparent, it is believed, that a device ofthis order might be used with any form of earring, whether it is thescrew-secured form indicated in the drawings at 32, the spring urgedclampon type, or whether it is to protect the form of earring whichpierces the ear but which may, because of the light structure, notprovide a very secure engagement.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the abovedescription and the disclosure in the drawings that the inventioncomprehends a novel construction of a safety retaining means forearrings.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

Safety retaining means for earrings, comprising: a wire formed with anupper and a lower curved portion meeting at a bend, the upper curvedportion being hook shaped and having a contour conforming to the line ofjoinder of the outer ear and scalp from a point a short distance forwardof the uppermost point of this line of joinder to the mastoid process ofthe temporal bones, the lower curved portion downwardly extending fromsaid bend and conforming throughout its major portion to said line ofjoinder from the mastoid process of the temporal bones downward, saidupper curved portion being more sharply curved than said lower curvedportion, a length of chain depending from the lower end of said lowercurved portion and means on the lower end of said chain adapted toengage the earring, said upper curved portion being bent into amultiplicity of small corrugations, said upper and lower curved portionslying substantially in the same plane and said corrugations beingdirected substantially normally to said plane, the upper end of saidupper curved portion terminating in a balled end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,264,295 Greene Apr. 30, 1918 1,582,383 Connally Apr. 27, 19261,936,773 Splaine Nov. 28, 1933 2,229,568 Hodgkins Ian. 21, 19412,525,195 Austrian Oct. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 366,118 Germany Mar.12, 1922

